The former Liberal Party opposition leader from 1972 to 1975 graduated from being the Demons Number 1 ticketholder to president in 1980. He had already been knighted in 1978. Until 1983 he also served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In 1985 he was president when the Demons were forced to move to the Junction Oval as a training venue when the MCC decided that they were no longer allowed to use the MCG.

A reform group attempted to topple Snedden and his board in 1985. Despite Snedden announcing that Stuart Spencer would replace him in 1986 a fiery meeting in October of that year at the Camberwell Civic Centre voted his board out. The board, however, declared the meeting unconstitutional and refused to budge. Snedden had walked out of the meeting, shaken, after being booed from the stage. He had earlier been deposed as chairman in favour of former secretary Jim Cardwell by a show of hands.

By the time it came to nominating candidates for the 1986 board the reform group failed to name a candidate and Snedden's chosen board was elected unopposed. He retired at the end of that year, claiming it had nothing to do with the challenge but claiming that the actions of the reform group had almost made him stay on.